


Fiasco

by Kit_SummerIsle



Series: Cybertronian Advent Calendar [10]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Advent Calendar, Treats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 13:35:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1081622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_SummerIsle/pseuds/Kit_SummerIsle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Advent Calendar Day 13 - prompt: festive treats<br/>Starscream isn't perfect. He just likes to think so.<br/>G1-ish, indeterminate time after the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fiasco

Optimus Prime arrived home after the long and trying orn he wanted nothing more than to sit down, have some energon and Starscream. In any order. But it was winterfest evening this orn and the Seeker was mysterious for some time so he must have planned something, a celebration or feast that he was accidentally alluded to several times this decaorn. Never the one to foul up other’s efforts and long learned that Starscream demanded recognition and praise, Optimus put on his happy face and tried to push his tiredness into the background before entering their apartment.

But the first room revealed no Seeker and nothing else out of the ordinary. True, the apartment was huge, as mechs said befitting the Prime and Starscream could have set up his surprise in any of the rooms they owned. There was even a small lab adjoining to the main part of the place, where the Seeker could tinker to his spark’s content and several where they could entertain guests or friends from formal to less official functions.

“Starscream?”

The second room revealed some broken crystal shards on one table and an energon spot on the floor. It immediately dispelled Optimus’s tiredness and made him anxious. He hurried on, trying to find his mate.

“Starscream! Where are you?”

He thought that he heard an answer, a muffled oath that could be Starscream, from his left, exactly the direction of the small lab. He turned and with fast steps approached the entrance. Starscream never liked him there, nor his Trine, nor any of the other scientist; it was his private place and one he didn’t want to share or reveal.

“Don’t…!”

It was unmistakably his voice, but toned with embarrassment and shame, like Optimus never heard before. It made him even more worried and Optimus decided to brave him in his lab.

“Star… what is it?”

“Nothing! Just… stay out!” – the everpresent screech was even more distinctive than usually, undertoned with a whine, not normally heard in his voice.

Optimus reached the door for the lab and his worry intensified. Under the door some liquid oozed out and over it a thick smoke curled out by the doorframe. From behind the door came noises like crashing, things breaking and even… shooting? Nothing could have kept him out after that sound and the door barely had enough time to slide aside before he rushed in.

“Told you to stay out…!”

Optimus Prime was flabbergasted. The lab looked like a disaster zone and Starscream, standing in the middle of it like the last survivor of said catastrophe. The tables were covered with what looked like energon in various states of gelled and fallen, near-solid and sliding apart or in a liquid form, dripping down from the edges. There was enough energon on the surfaces to feed a small colony, but most of it looked… ruined, Optimus supposed was the word, although he didn’t even know energon could go bad this way.

Some of it was smeared and dripping down from Starscream’s frame, especially from his servos, making him look like a vicious murderer – if not for the miserable expression he wore and his wings hanging so low as to be nearly invisible. In one corner the distinct signs of a small explosion were visible on the walls and ceiling, probably the source of the smoke still pouring out into the corridor. 

“What happened? Did an experiment go wrong…?”

Optimus approached his liberally splattered, miserable-looking mate, determined to comfort the distraught Seeker. As soon as he decided where he could touch him. 

“Slagging, good-for-nothing, creation of a witless drone, Sideswipe!”

That was unexpected. Had the red twin played a prank on Starscream… in his lab? That would be suicidal.

“What did he do, love?” – he decided to stroke a wing – it was the cleanest part of the Seeker’s frame, though once he thought it, a hot bath together would be a nice idea – so he embraced the sticky shoulders.

“Fragger! Made it sound like it was easy!” – Starscream screeched but he didn’t refuse the embrace and the soothing waves Optimus sent him.

“Easy what?” 

He still didn’t understand the incredible mess. On a second look some of the vessels, holding or supposed to hold the energon were the ones they used for formal dinners, and the smeared, melted shapes reminded him of treats. Sort of. 

“The slagger gave me some recipes for energon treats! He made it sound like it was easy!”

Optimus put two and two together. Starscream’s planned surprise and the apparent disaster zone his lab turned out to be. Ohh…

“You made treats?”

“Tried to…” – his muffled voice was still upset and he was burrowing into the Prime’s embrace. Optimus refrained from smiling but soothingly stroked the warm and sticky armour. Looking around and deciding that nothing else seemed to be about exploding or on fire, he gently drew Starscream out of the room and towards the wash racks.

“It’s all right, love. I appreciate the intent anyhow.”

Starscream pouted but let himself led out. 

“Slagging worth nothing…”

“It does to me…” – Optimus purred his engine against white plating, trying to draw his focus away from the failure – “I know that you humoured me with the whole celebration, so any effort is making me glad.”

Starscream still whined a bit, but the proud Seeker wanted nothing else than forgetting the fiasco. At least no mech but Optimus have seen the disaster-area in his lab, he told himself.

After a bath which turned out to be a success in calming Starscream, they drank some high-grade, ate some rust sticks and slowly the good mood was repaired, nearly celebrating again – and Optimus never presented the festive treats he bought from Sideswipe’s sweet-shop on the way home and which were safely hidden in his subspace.

He might not have survived if he did.


End file.
